IronPigs staff is all about entertaining ... most of the time

IronPigs staff aims to provide a unique experience every time fans come to Coca-Cola Park.

July 05, 2014|Tom Housenick

A reporter and camera person from a Philadelphia TV station trekked up the Northeast Extension to do a story on the "winner" of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' funeral contest.

They joked with Kurt Landis, Lehigh Valley's general manager, who came up with the idea nearly a decade earlier when he was with another organization.

The Philadelphia tandem then requested to interview the winner two innings before he was officially announced during the August 2013 game at Coca-Cola Park, so they could head back to Philadelphia to make their deadline for that night's newscast.

They returned to the press box after the interview in a different frame of mind.

"I knew the storyline was going to go from goofy and outlandish to very emotional," Landis said. "They were wiping the tears from their eyes."

So was everyone else that night as Lindsey Knupp, IronPigs director of promotions and entertainment, read winner Steve Paul's story as Paul sat next to her in a wheelchair and his daughter, Robyn, stood beside him.

The Freemansburg man was diagnosed weeks earlier with ALS.

"It became a celebration-of-life night," Knupp said. "There were doves flying off. It was a really nice moment."

The funeral contest is one of many giveaways, promotions and events in the seven-year history of the IronPigs that have elicited a vast array of responses from fans and media near and far.

Landis, the 2009-10 International League executive of the year, likes it that way. He recognizes that while he doesn't have any control over the players and coaches assigned to the IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Philles, he and his staff have the ability to affect the fan experience at Coca-Cola Park.

The IronPigs staff has embraced the family atmosphere, the need to provide unique opportunities for groups large and small, and the necessity of entertaining everyone.

The events — some done nightly, some done only once — have reflected that attitude and been recognized with national media attention and awards galore.

From the urinal games in 2013 to the Santa Claus jerseys in 2012 to the Harry Kalas talking bobbleheads in 2011, when fans lined up at noon for the 7:05 game, the IronPigs go all out.

"[Kalas] family members were here and threw out the first pitch," Landis said. "We had his Hall of Fame speech, his suit and shoes.

"It was something we didn't want to do too soon after his death," he said. "We wanted to be respectful."

The craziness started in 2008 with an on-field wedding of an area man and woman who met while playing baseball and softball on connecting fields.

They were chosen from about 100 applicants, all of whom had to leave the wedding date up to the IronPigs.

The couple arrived at the ballpark earlier that year for what they thought was their final interview and instead were surprised to learn they'd been chosen. A celebration ensured with their parents and media in tow, and of course, confetti.

During the event Aug. 8, the vows were exchanged between home plate and the pitcher's mound. They used a slingshot to propel the garter and bouquet. The first dance was between innings and the players wore tuxedo jerseys that later were auctioned off for charity.

Military greetings are a regular occurrence on the large video board in left field, though there was a nice twist June 28.

Ronald Snyder, a Northwestern Lehigh High graduate and private first class in the Army, delivered a video message with many members of his family at Coca-Cola Park. Previously stationed in Italy, he ended his speech with, "I'll be home soon."

Snyder then came running out of the dugout.

In 2013, two children played the on-field game "Let's Make a Deal." They chose a huge box, which had their military dad inside, ready to pop out with flowers in hand.

The IronPigs have hosted the Triple-A championship game and the Triple-A All-Star game and made spectacles of the news.

The Triple-A All-Star game announcement was made at Coca-Cola Park, where the outfield grass became one big cornfield. One by one, Local high school and college players emerged wearing a jersey from one of the 30 teams represented in the game with a James Earl Jones imitation voice booming on the stadium speakers and the "Field of Dreams" intro music.

"There are no press releases here," Landis said.

Sometimes, all the preparation can't prevent a glitch or two.

The Jamaican steel drum band Silver Birds performed during the 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game's Home Run Derby. It almost didn't.

IronPigs staffers drove a van to pick up the 10-member band and its equipment from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

The 15-passenger van wasn't big enough to hold the team and its equipment.